[discussion] What's The Best Way To Experience A First Wynncraft Playthrough?

This isn't an official feedback thread to give the CT info or something, I just wanted to ask y'all about something that's been on my mind.

Recently, I replayed one of my favorite games from start to finish. While I enjoyed the experience immensely, it was missing something: that feeling of pure adventure that a first playthrough has. And this got me thinking about my first ever playthrough (getting a class from level 1 to max level) of Wynncraft.

My first playthrough was pretty much "blind", and some highlights included:

Spoiler

- Up until level 65ish (keep in mind the max level was 70/75 back when I started playing), I never checked the wiki. To be fair, quests were pretty simple, but I'm mainly referring to not spoiling myself on content.
- I never checked the forums until after I got my first level 75 class.
- I never had any quests spoiled to me by other players, although I did ask a moderator once if they would tell me about Temple of the Legends when I was level 60ish. All they said was that the boss was ultra-hard, which only made me more curious.
- While I did utilize the Wynncraft map, there were way less markers on there in 2013 then there are now (I actually had to find caves and grind spots on my own!), and locations like The Great Bridge weren't even marked, making me wonder what they could actually be.
- When the Ocean Update launched, the Wynncraft map wasn't updated for a week, which meant that finding every island was a massive surprise. I remember discovering Selchar and thinking "Did I take a wrong turn and just swim to Detlas?"
- I would continuously go to areas where I was underleveled and got my ass kicked. I still kept coming back, because I knew there would be cool secrets to find.

I also died, so, SO many times. But with every death, I just became more determined to complete these challenges (by challenges I mean dungeons, they were actually hard back then), and when I did succeed I was so happy.

And then there's my best memory in all of Wynncraft: running to Almuj at level 8. I died so many times to the ocelots, but completing this journey in the end was so worth it. To this day, nothing in the game has quite lived up to it. And I find it interesting how my greatest memory comes from doing something that no one would ever recommend that a new player should do.

I doubt that any playthrough done by a new player today would be like mine. For one, discord provides an easy way to get help. New players are frequently recommends modpack(s) by the community, which make the game much easier IMO. If you look around the forums or #wynncraft for a few hours you'll be spoiled on everything. The Wynncraft map and quest book just about gives everything away too.

But this led me to wonder: What is the best way to experience a first playthrough on Wynncraft? Is it more fun to go in blind, or is it better to have the wiki and a youtube channel on hand? Is it better to fail repeatedly but finally feel excitement upon completing a challenge, or is it better to breeze through your first playthrough without any issues?

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this in the comments. Also interested to hear if any of your playthroughs were similar to mine.

 

What made my first playthrough entertaining was the slow levelling progression causing me to play the server for 4 whole years. If it weren't for me coming back and forth from the server, I'd probably have quit years ago from boredom. Now Wynncraft is a server I play on every other day and being able to level up faster now really makes me feel like I've achieved a mastery of the game.

 

The feeling that there's so much more to look forward to (nesaak, troms, gavel as a whole) as a low level, is SO pure. I loved getting to explore new areas, and rush through the great bridge cause I was SO curious about how Troms was!

So to me, the best part was having content to look forward to and new areas to explore. Endgame just doesn't do it for me anymore.

 

My first playthrough I played it for 4 years (pre-Wynnter AND Ocean) with no knowledge about how to speed up leveling and I took it one step at a time. I saw the discussion about a dude named Bob and CoW and I was excited to go to Troms and such, and then once Gavel came out, going into a large mansion. So overall I believe playing it without any knowledge of how to speed up the process (grinding locations or identifying when and where bombs drop and dungeon meta) is what pushed me to keep playing to get to a goal, rather than making X or Y quest or a section of the game (I'm looking at levels 40-55, mostly) pretty boring and grindy. At the same time, knowing stuff like grinding meta helps but taking the game at the pace you feel and learn from is the best option.

 

Mine was pretty slow, so it took me 2 years to become lvl 106. When I was lvl 40, I quickly ran to Cinfras being excited to make a guild, died 3 times, then when I got there I realised I was fucking broke and had to run back to Lleviggar to continue my gameplay. When I did Fate of the Fallen, the Theorick part was extremly laggy and buggy, so my big brain took this as a sign of corruption from Wynn for some stupid reason, and proceeded to delete all my classes except the buggy one, until I realised that /kill existed. It was a lot better after that except that time when I stopped lvling for 3 months to lootrun at lvl 82 and only managed to find an Apoc.

 

1 word.

Blind.

 

Let me put it like this, it took me 4 years to get my first class to max lvl (when I started playing, max. lvl was 75, but I never reached that, I only reached max lvl when it was capped at 101)

But now, it took me like 2 weeks to get 11 classes to lvl 65, 16 hours to get 11 classes to lvl 89, 36 hours to get 12 classes to lvl 105, and 30 hours to get 14 classes to lvl 106...

Guess which was more enjoyable... Doing it for the first time was just so pure and innocent, so much awesome exploring and interesting quests (which are still interesting, but it doesn't have the same spell/effect when you've done the quests so many times). So new areas and quests are the things I'm most looking forward to in upcoming updates

 

I'm actually still working on my first playthrough! I definitely go through a "punctuated equilibrium" of sorts where I spend weeks without progressing because I'm so busy exploring random corners of the world, and then I'll jump into the grind and blast upwards by 5 or 6 levels. But honestly, I'm finding that to be my "natural" play style, and I'm able to have the most fun doing that!
I also discovered the forum and wiki VERY early on. Like, probably by the time I was level 35 or 40. It's definitely helped out at points where I've gotten stuck or just too intellectually lazy to finish a quest puzzle lol

 

I'll say Blind by far, it's not fun to have a friend instantly giving you a Therck set upon spawning and carrying you through the game.
Even using the wiki has always been iffy to me, but I guess it can't be helped. It's fine for some players who're just too stuck or want translations

Things do get easier, or rather more accessible with each update though, but I don't mind that much. There's always so much to explore for a new player!

 

I had a friend that had already played wynn when I first joined so his opinion about the game kind of ruined my first time playing experience, I kind of just followed them and I didn't really explore the game on my own I also never really knew about item ids etc because I just asked them what's a better piece of gear so i just missed the whole point of building until i just left them at level 50 and played by myself.
Playing the game blind is great and is without a doubt better than knowing what to do and having other people's idea of the game change your experience my only problem with a first playthrough that's completely blind is that there's so much to explore and discover by yourself like boss altars, secret discoveries, caves with signs that point to lore and much more that you just can't enjoy because of the fast paste that low levels have. I never knew about boss altars until the passage quest and after completing it I had to check the wiki just to know other even exist and by the time you know something is a thing it's probably too late. I wished I was able to and had the time to explore the game and everything it has to offer but I feel like even when going blind you just miss so many things and without checking the wiki you won't even know about when finishing a fifth playthrough by your own. YES a blind playthrough is probably the best way to experience any game for the first time but without other sources like the wiki it's just impossible to play the full game like "you are supposed to" the game is built on exploration but it's just way too fast for the amount of content it got. I wished I was able to have my first playthrough one that I know I didn't miss anything in because doing it one a later playthrough just doesn't feel right

 

Do it blind, and do it alone. Having people to guide/help/carry you just makes the experience more limited, easy, and just not as fun and exciting, at least for me.

There were many exciting and fun moments that I remember from my first playthrough, and I can't experience them again. You have only one shot for the blind experience, use it wisely.

 

I say blind and with friends who also don't know anything about the game
About wiki usage, using it as less as possible is for the best, though I can't blame anyone for using the wiki on certain quests like ??? or The House of Twain (I can't recall any hints about the ghost cap, and I also don't recall the quest having any clues on how to get one and why you need one, I always used the wiki for this one except for back when the helmet costed your entire level 1-50 life savings, yeah it used to cost 1LE)
Other than those very rare situations, using the wiki as less as possible is better in my opinion
For other players, if they help you figure out what the hell you are doing during the first 15 levels (which is what I tend to do when helping newbies, resolving their questions)

 

I actually think that its better without wynntils, but if you are high leveled or are trying to speedrun its very useful.

I also find that the map doesn't hurt, at least for me. My first playthrough (technically second, but everything had changed so much since pre gavel that it really isn't) I found out about the map at like lvl 15. I was zoomed in, and saw how detailed and large nivla was, and I thought it was huge. I zoomed out, and almuj seemed miles away! I panned south, and saw the Tower of Ascension, and was amazed. Then I noticed the ocean. I wondered what was across it, and after about 2 minutes of scrolling (thats how zoomed in I was) I found the molten heights. My mind was absolutely blown by the sheer size of the map.

I'd suggest staying away from the wiki though, but some gavel quests aren't designed in a way that really gives any hint of where to go.

Now, I'm trying to get leveled to play with a lvl 50 friend who is on their first playthrough. Most of early gavel I have forgotten, and I only have vague recollections of where to go. Star thief is probably the first quest that felt like it was something new. This time, I'm trying to go as blind as possible.

Honestly, if you want to have a good second playthrough, or even third, don't speedrun. Play it like your first

 

Alone is a good idea, though I'd say it's also great with friends as long as they're also going blind.

 

I've played it with friends in a situation where they were blind and I was experienced, and it just felt a bit "limited", as compromises had to be made and I couldn't just do the random shit I usually do like battling every single boss on every playthrough.

I have no idea what it would be like with everyone being blind, but trying to match progress and such could be a problem, so I still recommend doing it alone.

 

Thank you all for the responses guys, I'll try my best to reply to them!

Yeah, I feel like the first playhtrough should definitely be taken slowly, but I love how you have the option to run through the game if you know what you're doing if you want to reach the endgame faster.

Agreed! I loved exploring new parts of the world for the first time, including in updates like Gavel that added new areas. That's honestly the reason I loved that update so much, no matter what other people say the feeling of exploration in 1.14 was great.

Yeah, it feels like there's definitely a grinding spike at 40-55. Part of me feels like that should be smoothed out, but at the same time, I feel like new players gotta get used to grinding eventually.

Sounds like you had a very unique experience! What motivated you to start lootrunning at that level?

Agreed with both of these/

I'm glad to hear you're having fun, and have found a playstyle you enjoy! And yeah, the wiki can be pretty helpful at times I agree, there are some recent quests that I would've never completed without the help of a guide.

Thank you for mentioning the Therck set, I completely forgot about it! My god, hearing that set get recommended to new players is one of my ultimate pet peeves. It's boring to obtain and makes the game stupidly easy. Yeah, it's fine for repeat playthroughs but I think it will flat out ruin a new players experience.

I can kinda disagree with this personally, I don't think that missing things on your first playthrough is that bad. After all, it gives you something to look forward to on your second playthrough!

I agree with what jbip said a few posts above. While being carried by other players (looking at you CUR) isn't that fun, playing with friends seems much better than playing with

Yeah, I find some of those puzzle quests to be very difficult, and I totally understand using the wiki for them.

Yeah I love the map, it's the overabundance of markers that I have a few gripes with.

 

Playing with friends can be very fun, and in many cases it is, but in Wynncraft I honestly don't get that feel too often during the main game. It's just something about the world design and how most quests and game difficulty is so solo-centered. I do see your point of view and respect your opinion, but still stand with my own.

 

I think reading the wiki/forums/discord/map and using wynntils is completely fine on a first playthrough, just my opinion but I hate getting lost and not knowing what to do next (on any game, not just wynn). Just gives me the feeling that I'm wasting time that I could be spending leveling up and not boring myself to death. I'm not one who would scour the world for secrets or go to high level areas, which I know would likely get me killed and cause me unnecessary frustration, but that's just me

 

Yeah playing with friends is great, the quest can be played with friends (a while ago my friends did toa together and still struggled and not all quests are challenging in terms of fighting etc I had a lot of fun just taking with my friend about the dialogueand lore on the start of my first playthrough) but I totally get you, most quests weren't that challenging alone without a lot of experience so the difficulty does make it feel like singleplayer intended when having to fight boss

 

This is something thats been annoying me lately. I've encountered alot of players on discord, encouraging players to level up as quickly as possible, mainly by ignoring quest competely, and grinding.

In fact, almost every person I've attempted to introduce into Wynncraft ends up grinding away all the early levels.

Its kind of annoying to me for many reasons, for one, their isn't much endgame like in other mmos, almost all of the content of the game is quest. If you skip quest, then whats the point in the game? Alot of these players seem to think the game should be about loot running and economic gain.

I think the worst part are these players unironically getting pissed at me for attempting to tell players to take leveling slow, I normal recommend they adventure and quest, and take their time playing the game, and everytime I've said this, while one of them is in the discord call, they start to yell.

(I typed all of this on my phone, sorry if its formatted badly.)